Blues Traveler has always been a band that lets their sound, travel, if you will. Along the winding path of their career, the one constant has been change. "Save His Soul" sounded nothing like "Four", which sounded nothing like "Truth Be Told", which sounded nothing like "Blow Up The Moon". They have always been chasing something, but what exactly that is has always been nebulous. In the beginning, the strove for respect. Then they strove for the status they deserved. Then they strove to regain their place. And finally, they strove to make themselves happy. That leaves us with a string of records that hold together, but form a patchwork that draws your attention to a different area each time. And even when they are taking a detour that might not be your choice, there are always interesting twists that make it worth your while to take the ride with them.
With the band having reached a milestone of longevity, the question of how to commemorate that brings them back (nearly) full circle. While their last couple records have seen Blues Traveler injecting their sound with pop songwriters in the search for the perfect collaboration, "Hurry Up & Hang Around" finds them stripping back to the garage band they started out as. This is the most classically Blues Traveler album they have made, in approach, in many a year.
Our first taste of this chapter came from the opening track, "Accelerated Nation", which came out of the gates in traditional Blues Traveler form. Sounding like a mix of all their eras, the song fused their classic sound with the polished writing of their modern work, giving us a song that fits the same mold "Most Precarious" did (and sadly never got credit for - that was a better single than it is remembered as).
Longtime fans will recognize bits and pieces that should evoke a smile, like how John Popper's melody in the verses of "She Becomes My Way" stretches a syllable or two longer than anyone else would write it. Those are the details that I have always appreciated, both as a fan and as a songwriter. Every writer and every band has idiosyncrasies that pop up, which I think got too smoothed out with the amount of collaboration they had been doing lately. Even when they were writing great songs, like "Matador" was, they didn't have those trademark elements. Hearing them again is a treat.
Another one pops up on "Daddy Went A Giggin'", where Popper's melody in the verses, and some of the feel of the instrumental, is somewhat pulled from his solo album, "Zygote" (the song "His Own Hands" in particular). The songwriting on this record is a throwback to the "Four" and "Straight On Til Morning" period, but more concise than they were back then. The band has been constantly trimming away the excess from their old tendencies, which leaves us with a lean record. Old fans might think there's a looseness missing from the recordings, but it shows how their focus has shifted over the years towards sharp songwriting.
The thing about being a Blues Traveler fan is that we can argue over which of their experiments are our favorites. Some of us will love how gritty and heavy they got on "Bastardos!", while others will appreciate the slickness of "Truth Be Told". This one, though, feels like the right record for an anniversary period, because it is the one record since "Four" that best captures every side of the band.
Given how much the world has changed since "Run Around" and "Hook" were near the top of the charts, it's a good decision that the band is no longer trying to chase a hit, and is instead writing music that is befitting of their status. There are clover hooks and strong melodies, but they integrate into the core of the band's sound, rather than sounding like the token attempt to appeal to a demographic that no longer exists. Look, I love "Girl Inside My Head" and "Amber Awaits" too, but even then there no longer existed the proper outlet for them to become mainstream hits.
"Hurry Up & Hang Around" is a record made for Blues Traveler fans by the biggest fans of them all, the band. At this stage of their career, that's exactly what most people want to hear. And listening to the results, I can't argue. This record will make any Blues Traveler fan happy, and it will reset things so the next experiment is more welcome. (Bloody Good Music / Chris C)

Opening up with "What Makes You Country," the album's title track, Luke Bryan immediately showcases why he became one of the most-popular stars of the past decade in country music.: he sings songs about himself, his friends and his audience. This one, an anthem which is to likely be both a radio hit and the opener of his concerts for years to come, also speaks of becoming who you are and that you don’t have to be born and bred or even from the rural areas to be “country.” “Out Of Nowhere Girl” and “Bad Lovers” both speak of dalliances with the opposite sex while “Sunrise, Sunburn, Sunset” is the kind of song that stirs up memories of good summer days gone. “Hungover In A Hotel Room” (which features Emily Weisbend in a supporting vocal role) has a moody melody as it describes a couple in the midst of a morning after a night of bliss.
While there’s plenty of relationship-related music and good times to be had here, there are a couple of songs which will make you stand up and pay attention to What Makes You Country. The first of those is “Most People Are Good,” a song which is subdued in approach but is basically a song that believes in the beauty of humanity and that we all, in the end, really want the same things out of our lives. It also manages to be inspirational without feeling preachy (Though I suspect people WILL call it that when it becomes another hit single for Luke Bryan). “Land Of A Million Songs” is another special moment on the record. It’s basically how and why a musician does what they do. “Win Life” is another attention grabbing moment on What Makes You Country as it describes the need to living to work instead of working to live. Another interesting, attention-grabbing moment is “Drinking Again,” about as simple a sing-a-long song as an artist can have in their repertoire.
Because they have to and it’s part of evert fiber of their being. “Like You Say You Do” is a pleasant song with the kind of details that feel like a cousin to “Jesse’s Girl.” “Hooked On It” is about getting addicted to the music (and works as a cousin to “What Makes You Country”). Interestingly, “Light It Up,” the lead single from this project, is probably the least likable song on the record. So, in a record that is over 51 minutes long and fifteen songs deep, that’s saying something. It remains to be seen if What Makes You Country will become the best recording of his career but it certainly is something fans new and old will find more than enough to like on it. (Matt Bjorke / Roughstock.com)

Das komplette Tracklisting:

1. What Makes You Country - 3:55
2. Out Of Nowhere Girl - 3:38
3. Light It Up - 2:57
4. Most People Are Good - 3:41
5. Sunrise, Sunburn, Sunset - 3:36
6. Bad Lovers - 3:36
7. Drinking Again - 3:45
8. Land Of A Million Songs - 3:31
9. Like You Say You Do - 3:40
10. Hooked On It - 3:17
11. She's A Hot One - 2:55
12. Hungover In A Hotel Room - 3:54
13. Pick It Up - 2:59
14. Driving This Thing - 2:56
15. Win Life

The idiosyncratic and innovative music of Rosanne Cash, daughter of Johnny Cash, made her one of the pre-eminent singer/songwriters of her day. Although Rosanne Cash is often classified as a country artist, her music draws on many genres, including folk, pop, rock and blues. In the 1980s, she had a string of chart-topping singles, which crossed musical genres and landed on both C&W and Top 100 charts, the most commercially successful being her 1981 breakthrough hit "Seven Year Ache", which topped the U.S. country singles charts and reached the Top 30 on the U.S. pop singles charts. Included on The Essential Rosanne Cash are 36 tracks over 2 discs, including 10 #1 US Country singles. There is a story here on The Essential Rosanne Cash that runs from 1978's "Can I Still Believe In You" to 2009's "Sweet Memories." Within the joints and joists of these songs Cash married, had children, married again, had children again, traveled, lived in five cities on two continents, lost loved ones, got sick and got well again. Many of the selections on this compilation are signposts of sorts for the landmarks of her life, and the personal and musical are essentially interwoven.

Swaggering, razor-wire gospel-tinged soul, simmering deep blues and hard-grooving house rockers (AllMusic. com). Gritty, funky, rocking and original (Boston Globe). Blazing soul-blues rocker Tommy Castro’s musical roots run deep. As he unleashes his high-energy music to fans all over the world, Castro is inspired by the sounds he absorbed while coming of age on the rough and tumble side of San Jose, California. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, this was Castro’s home turf – his stomping ground. It was a place where the street-tough Mexican Americans and the counter-culture hippies came together to drink, smoke, laugh, party and listen to tunes – the hippies with their blues and rock, the Mexicans with their soul music. Mixing the blues-rock he loved and the soul music he heard blasting out from the lowriders cruising the streets, along with the socially conscious message songs of the day, Tommy’s own sound was born. He honed his guitar playing to a razor’s edge on the city’s competitive bar scene, where he learned how to capture an audience with his intensely passionate vocals, stellar musicianship and dynamic performances. Almost every major rock and soul act, from Ike & Tina Turner to Janis Joplin to Elvin Bishop and Taj Mahal toured through the area, and Castro was at almost every show. He saw John Lee Hooker, Albert King and Buddy Guy & Junior Wells at the same local blues bar, JJ’s, where he often jammed, dreaming of one day busting out. Over the course of his career, Tommy Castro’s San Jose DNA has always inspired his music, whether he’s squeezing out the deepest blues or the funkiest soul grooves. He and The Painkillers – bassist Randy McDonald, keyboardist Michael Emerson and drummer Bowen Brown – have played hundreds of shows to thousands of music lovers, always leaving his audiences screaming for more. All of his albums are filled with original blues, soul and West Coast rock, each song showing a slightly different side of Castro’s multifaceted musical personality. Billboard says the band plays “irresistible contemporary blues-rock” with “street-level grit and soul.” On his new album, Stompin’ Ground, Tommy Castro opens windows both into his past and his always-evolving musical future. Produced by Castro and guitar wunderkind Kid Andersen and recorded at Andersen’s soon-to-be legendary Greaseland Studio in San Jose, Stompin’ Ground finds Castro letting loose on a set of 12 tracks featuring six originals and new versions of songs he learned and played as a young up-and-comer. He is simultaneously looking back with autobiographical originals and cover songs that inspired him, while forging a forward trail with modern lyrics atop blistering blues-rock. With The Painkillers firing on all cylinders behind him, Castro lays it all on the line from the opening notes of Nonchalant to the final, introspective Live Every Day. From the autobiographical My Old Neighborhood to the socially aware Enough Is Enough and Fear is The Enemy to versions of Elvin Bishop’s Rock Bottom and Taj Majal’s Further On Down The Road (two of his favorite songs from his earliest heroes), Stompin’ Ground is pure musical pleasure. “As soon as we started cutting,” Castro says, “we knew we were onto something.” In addition to the The Painkillers, Castro’s friends Charlie Musselwhite (harp and vocals on Live Every Day), Mike Zito (guitar and vocals on Rock Bottom), Danielle Nicole (vocals on Soul Shake) and Los Lobos’ David Hidalgo (guitar and vocals on Them Changes) add their talents to Stompin’ Ground. “I heard each one of my friends’ contributions on these songs in my head as I was working on them. Happily, when I reached out and actually asked, everyone said yes.”

Kurze Original-Produktinfo:
The Civil Wars' highly anticipated sophomore self-titled album is the follow up to the three-time Grammy Award-winning duo's acclaimed debut, Barton Hollow.
The Civil Wars was recorded in Nashville between August 2012 and January 2013. Charlie Peacock was once again at the helm as producer for the album. Additionally, Rick Rubin produced the duo's performance for the track "I Had Me a Girl" in August of 2011. Peacock later completed the track by producing the instrumentation and mix.

This song pays homage to regret. Nearly everybody I've come across has somebody in their life that they wonder what life would be like if they'd never met that person. It's that sliding-door moment -- in the blink of an eye everything could change. Either for the positive or the negative.
John Paul and I wrote this song in the screened-in porch of my and Nate's new home. I remember warm breezes blowing, a mild day. I had recently had my son, Miles, who happened to be asleep with Nate in the living room, right next to the porch. I remember asking John Paul to play quietly so he didn't wake up the baby.

I HAD ME A GIRL

This song always conjures up an image of a glass of whiskey and a lit cigarette. It's a little brooding. A little dangerous. It smolders. It has swagger and grit. It's full of innuendo and Southern Gothic tones. I love the feel of this track, and the way this song came together on the record. "I Had Me a Girl" is one of those musical moments that makes me wish I knew how to play electric guitar. Or any guitar, for that matter.

SAME OLD SAME OLD

This song, to me, represents the ache of monogamy. This isn't an "I'm leaving you" song. It's a vulnerable confession of "I don't want to leave. I want to work on this -- with you." Having said that, someone once told me a story about long-term relationships: to think of them as a continent to explore. I could spend a lifetime backpacking through Africa, and I would still never know all there is to know about that continent. To stay the course, to stay intentional, to stay curious and connected -- that's the heart of it. But it's so easy to lose track of the trail, to get tired, to want to give up, or to want a new adventure. It can be so easy to lose sight of the goodness and mystery within the person sitting right in front of you. That continent idea inspires me, and makes the ache when it comes hurt a little less. To know that it happens to all of us. What I'm realizing now is that sometimes the "same old same old" can actually be rich, worthwhile and a great adventure.

DUST TO DUST

This song is an anthem for the lonely. Sometimes you come across somebody who thinks they are hiding their pain, but if we are all honest, nobody is very good at it. "You're like a mirror, reflecting me. Takes one to know one, so take it from me.” When John Paul and I wrote this late one night in Birmingham, England, we decided to change the pronoun at the end of the song. We wanted to represent that we all experience loneliness in our lives.

EAVESDROP

We brought in our producer, Charlie Peacock, on this song. He helped with arrangements and really helped take the song to a totally different place. Sometimes as an artist, you can't see what needs re-arranging when you're so "in it." Charlie brought perspective. Almost like an eavesdrop within an "Eavesdrop."
Strangely enough, this song always reminds me that my voice has changed since the last album. I have my son to thank for that, truly. When I was first pregnant and performing on the road, I thought something was wrong with my voice. I was having a hard time hitting high notes, while my low notes kept getting deeper and deeper. I did some research with the help of a vocal coach, and learned that hormone levels affect a female singing range. Having a boy, naturally, upped my testosterone levels, making low notes easier to hit and higher notes harder to reach. But the great thing? After having Miles, I regained my high range AND have kept my low range. Pregnancy literally changed the makeup of my vocal cords. There's a different timbre to it now, and I love that I can hear the story of my son in my singing.

DEVIL'S BACKBONE

This song is our take on an Americana murder ballad. It's dark, prickly, anxious. It was fun writing because we just imagined some dust-bowl scenario, a broke-down town, and a man awaiting being hung for something he did in the name of trying to provide for his family. The woman who loves him is watching him standing there on the gallows.
This song always reminds me of when the melody first came to mind. I was doing my makeup in the tiled bathroom upstairs, with my newborn Miles in a yellow rocking bassinet next to me. I started singing, and turned on the voice memo app on my iPhone so I wouldn't forget it. As I sang, Miles started cooing along with me. Not on pitch, mind you, but I'd move a note, and he'd move a note. I'm never deleting that voice memo. It's become one of my favorites.

FROM THIS VALLEY

That's our Grand Ole Opry song. A new spiritual. It's actually the oldest song written on the album. We wrote it before Barton Hollow came out. Even though we didn't have our own recording of it, we started performing it live and it became a fan favorite. It made sense to finally put it on an album. One of my favorite moments on stage every night was singing the a cappella part together.

TELL MAMA

We recorded the performance at Fame studio in Muscle Shoals, a place we'd written a few songs before that made it onto Barton Hollow. I always felt the musical ghosts in that studio, one of whom was the great Etta James. We're a band that's known for covering songs live in our own way, and we thought it would be fun to take a stab at "Tell Mama." I found out later that where we recorded was the same room she recorded her version. That might explain why I kept getting goosebumps.

OH HENRY

We wrote it one week before Barton Hollow, in the mountains of Salt Lake City during our first Sundance Festival. We conjured up a story about a woman who was married to a philandering man. She is begging her man to level with her, and letting him know she can only take so much, a la "it's gonna kill me or it's gonna kill you."

DISARM

Again, we're the band who loves to do covers. Both John Paul and I have always been huge Smashing Pumpkins fans. Nate mentioned it might be a cool cover, and we actually wound up working it out the same day that we wrote "Oh Henry" up in Salt Lake City for Sundance. It turned into another on-stage staple that people asked for every night. We found out later from his then-manager that Billy dug it.

SACRED HEART

We wrote this song in a flat in Paris, with the Eiffel Tower in full view on a cold night. Tall windows, Victorian furniture, and somehow the atmosphere of all of that seeped into the song. Nate and our friends were there in the room as we wrote, all of us drinking wine together. I also loved getting to try out my flawed French. I wrote what words I knew in French, and then had a Parisian friend named Renata Pepper (yes, that's her real name) look it over later and help me translate. When we recorded the song for the album, I called in a French professor from Vanderbilt named Becky Peterson, who has now become a good friend.

D'ARLINE

We wrote this song in the studio behind my house in Nashville, on a warm summer day, with the windows and doors open. This song is a sweet lament, of loss and the belief that you'll never be able to love anybody else again. I stumbled across "Letters of Note" on Twitter, and was struck by the title of a letter written by a famous physicist named Richard Feynman: "I love my wife. My wife is dead." A little over a year after her death, he wrote his wife a love letter and sealed it. It was written in 1946, and wasn't opened until after his death in 1988. He ended his note to his long-lost wife with "Please excuse my not mailing this -- but I don't know your new address."
Another aside to this song: While we were recording the song together, John Paul and I could hear crows cawing in the background that I've since named Edgar, Allen and Poe. This recording and performance of the song is the first and only in existence, a work tape recorded simply on my iPhone.

Rodney Crowell’s new album, Close Ties, demonstrates his strengths as a songwriter and illustrates how he has learned to balance personal recollection, literary sophistication, and his profound musical reach. Close Ties is at once his most intimate record and his most accessible, the product of years of understanding the ways songs can enter—and be entered by—life. “It’s a loose concept album, you could say,” Crowell says. “And the concept is related to how you tell stories about yourself. Having a few years ago written a memoir, my sensibilities toward narrative—especially trying to find a common thread in different pieces of writing—had become a part of my songwriting process.” Close Ties is a roots record, in the sense that Crowell himself has deep roots that stretch back into the alternative country scene of the early seventies. The rise of Americana music has struck a nerve with Crowell. “I have declared my loyalty to Americana. It’s a hard category for people to get their heads around, or at least the terminology is. But all the people who represent it—Townes van Zandt, Guy Clark, Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle and more recent stars like John Paul White and Jason Isbell—share a common thread, and that thread is poetry. Whether they are actual poets or their music exemplifies a poetic sensibility, generally speaking, the Americana artist shuns commercial compromise in favor of a singular vision. Which resonates with me.” There is also a powerful undercurrent of the blues running through the record. “Recently, I think—I hope—that my study of the blues is starting to show up in my music. Those artists, whether it’s Lightnin’ Hopkins or John Lee Hooker or the acoustic Delta players, connected to something fundamental. With that in mind, I’m trying to move forward but also get back there.”

California country music legend Merle Haggard's debut Vanguard release, I Am What I Am bristles with all the arresting qualities for which this unrivaled artist is prized. Every song is imbued with the near alchemical power of his dazzling vocal performances, and Haggard's interpretive mastery and unmatched phrasing continues to bring on impressive measures of sensitivity, candor and authority. Never conventional, often confrontational, always outspoken, the 72 year old Haggard remains as aggressively bent on revealing unspoken truths as ever.
From the astonishing opener, "I've Seen It Go Away," Haggard throws a flurry of knock-out punches. A stunningly blunt rundown of contemporary America's cultural decay--targeting everything from politics to pop music--it's prescient and pessimistic, but carries an unflinching honesty that trumps mere cynicism. When he sings "I`ve seen it all completely fall apart / and I`ve seen our greatest leaders break their peoples heart" it`s downright chilling, but the album doesn't dwell on woe. It's a typically far-reaching set, but remains centered around a series of contemplations on love, in all of its intoxicating and vexing forms. Examining romance with a poet's beatific vulnerability, Haggard travels from the ardent bloom of romance to the intricate ensemble of family life to the burnt out confusion of fading passion, yet always returns to love`s eternally redemptive power. This is Hag at his best, with his hair down, remarkably intimate and sincere.

Over a distinguished fifty year-plus career that's taken him from a drastically misspent criminal youth to solitary confinement in San Quentin to the Country Music Hall of Fame, Haggard has memorably portrayed, in song, myriad archetypal characters. Whether fugitive, troubadour, misfit or crusader, he's explored each perspective with a critical acuity, a hard-won skill that's allowed him to score no less than 40 number one country hits. With I Am What I Am, Haggard really looks inward, going all the way back to his Oildale childhood on sentimental reminiscence "Oil Tanker Train," which Haggard called "My favorite song on the album--that's a true deal." Rough-edged numbers like "Stranger in the City" and the rowdy "Mexican Band" carries the set all the way up to the singer's still barely-controlled hell-raising ways--on the latter, he unforgettably declares "Agave makes me dance on my hands." But on tracks like "Pretty When It's New," a study of new love's marvelous voltage, and "How Did You Find Me Here" which convincingly takes him from morbid depression to elated joy, Haggard sounds almost re-born, intensely involved and consumed with a sheer sense of wonder that's enhanced further by those characteristically masterful vocals.

Recorded with his ace band the Strangers, many of whom have been at Hag's side for decades, at his Northern California headquarters, the Shade Tree Manor studio, and co-produced by indispensable, longtime cohort Lou Bradley, the album was largely a family affair. "It was pretty much just the Strangers, but Reggie Young and Rob Ikes played on it, and we had an additional drummer that worked with us, George Receli from the Bob Dylan band." Haggard said. "Sometimes we try to find an inspiring player, to come and inspire us." That quality was clearly not in short supply, and Haggard's musical concepts and execution continue to flabbergast.

Equally at ease with hard country realism and jazz-informed expression, Haggard's songwriting is operating at an entirely new and impressive artistic plateau. "Bad Actor" is a remarkable soliloquy on married life and the vortex of hope, guilt, confusion and doubt it can instill. Delivered in the simplest language yet dealing with some highly intricate and subtle emotional issues, it is an altogether moving and unique achievement. Haggard's often closely guarded innocence is completely exposed, showing an incredible tenderness that, considering the counterpoint of his battle-scarred, hardened exterior, creates a profoundly resonant experience.

Closing with "I Am What I Am," the title track's unflinching self-assessment crystallizes the singer's own personal state of the union. Equally relaxed and ornery, confident, focused and as controversial as ever, Haggard knows exactly who he is--"a seeker and a sinner"--and taken with the fierce opening salvo of "I've Seen It Go Away," he still refuses to downplay or shy away from our common, harsh reality. "Its pretty sad actually, it just seems like its one thing after another that we lose every day." Haggard said. "You get up, turn on the radio and something else went down the drain. I guess people like you and I--people that care--have got to bind together somehow, and maybe doing that through the music is the best way." (Vanguard)

Like many in Nashville, James House has a built a career of writing hit songs for others. If you’ve not heard of House, you have probably heard these tunes that have reached well int the millions for radio spins – “A Broken Wing,” “Ain’t That Lonely Yet” and “In a Week or Two.” Count Rod Stewart, Tina Turner, The Mavericks, Dwight Yoakam and Martina McBride, among others who have benefitted from House’s pen. Yet, this prolific and versatile musician has a powerhouse Michael McDonald -like voice that should have him in the lead role more often. His recent work writing for Joe Bonamassa and Beth Hart had fans wanting House to do his own blues, roots-rock album. And, like so many in Nashville, who ply their craft in country and Americana worlds, House has always had a love for the blues and it’s been an undercurrent for much of his work. Thus, the self-titled James House and the Blues Cowboys. The Blues Cowboys is indeed a touring band (more on that later) but these sessions were built around some of the best musicians in Music City. House lured them to his studio, Cabin in The Woods, located in a rural area of Nashville. Will Kimbrough plays lead guitar on the first five tracks (side A) while A-list session guitarist Kenny Greenberg joins blues guitarist Todd Sharp on the last 5 tracks (side B). Mike Bradford (Uncle Kracker) plays bass throughout as does drummer Crash Jones. Nashville’s most in-demand fiddler Eamon McGloughlin sits in on Side A while House sings and plays his Fender Strat and organ throughout. That kind of arsenal is built for fire and the sparks fly immediately on “Jail House Blues” with House wailing on lines like these – “Mama killed Daddy in self-defense/Never was one to sit on the fence” as Kimbrough’s slide duels with House’s guitar. “Arkansas Woman’ and “Ain’t No Way” continue the soul aching blues vibe until reaching on of disc’s outstanding tracks “Long Way Down.” It’s taken at a slower, haunting tempo as if John Lee Hooker were singing verses from William Faulkner. “Well Ran Dry” on Side B carries a similar approach. How about this lyric? “I’m an empty soul/At the holy water bowl/Waiting on a rising tide.” Other highlights on Side b include the more roots driven “Gone Again” and the rock tune “Ballad of the TKIngs,” short for Troubadour Kings. Now, let’s go to the touring Blues Cowboys. Singer/guitarist Roddy Romero who just joined Yvette Landry for her recent release, if from Lafayette Louisiana as is lesser know drummer/percussionist Smoove Ras. They back House on the final cut, “What Side of the River Are You on?” the song was inspired by House attending the Buddy Holly Songwriting Retreat and listening to Mary Gauthier sing Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land” along the river in Lafayette. In a songwriting meeting with Romero and Ras, his vision for The Blues Cowboys was shaped. Great songs, achingly powerful vocals, and first-in-class musicians make this a terrific album. House has already indirectly put his stamp on contemporary blues with his work with Joe Bonamassa and Beth Hart. Now he’s set to make his mark directly with the Blues Cowboys. - Glide Magazine

James House deserves to be better known — or, more accurately, known more widely. He’s co-written several songs with blues guitarist Joe Bonamassa, including Bonamassa’s recent song “Redemption.” House is also a Grammy-, CMA-, and ACM-nominated songwriter, but on his new album, James House and The Blues Cowboys, he weaves rock, blues, and roots music into a colorful pattern that reveals many facets. House’s powerful, sometimes raw, vocals dominate, and he can moan with the best blues-shouters but can be as tender as the best of the balladeers. The new album serves as a showcase for his songwriting, singing, and guitar work. He gathered a group of world-class musicians — Will Kimbrough, Kenny Greenberg, Lou Toomey, Todd Sharp, Roddie Romero on guitars; Michael Bradford and Mike Brignardello on bass; Eamon McLoughlin on fiddle; Crash Jones and Smoov-Ras on drums — at his studio, Cabin in the Woods, to record the album. The album opens with a can’t-sit-still, shake-us-to-our-core blues rocker “Jail House Blues.” The raucous, bone-shaking song lifts us so high, we wonder if it can get any better than this. It does. “Long Way Down” opens with a slow funk with blues moan, but then escalates to a burning rocker in the chorus and the bridge, fueled by guitars reminiscent of Alvin Lee and Ten Years After. “Good Love” features a spacious, atmospheric vibe that allows House’s raw vocals to breathe and to call and respond to Kimbrough’s lead riffs. “Arkansas Woman” is one of the highlights of the album. There’s a place for every note, every chord, and every word, and the song wrings every emotion out of us by its end. Kimbrough’s soulful lead guitar brings this song to life in a way such that every note he plays makes a statement. While some of the playing is reminiscent of Eric Clapton’s leads, the difference here is that Kimbrough never wastes a note; both he and Clapton play clean and crisp, but while Clapton’s crispness is soulless, Kimbrough’s inhabits our souls and hearts and touches us with its depth. The layered riffs that open “Boomerang” mirror the action of the object itself — the riffs always come back, circling around and flying high before returning to start over again. The propulsive tune mimics the halting/forward-moving character of love: “We keep coming back to you and me.” The scalding lead riffs on the song’s bridge balance the pain of leaving with the tentative joy of returning and the inability to throw love far away; it always returns to you. “Which Side of the River You On” turns in a down-and-dirty, funky twist to that old folk tune by Florence Reece, “Which Side Are You On?” In this tune, which House co-wrote with Roddie Romero and Joshua Martin, and which features Romero and Smoov-Ras, shimmers with a roiling slide guitar, and with an insistent funk beat asks, “which side of the river you on / Ain’t saying which is right or wrong / When the flood comes down / It’s too late to get to higher ground.” Listen to this album! Words can’t always describe how perfect, how moving, how powerful some of the songs on the album are. James House and The Blues Cowboys is an album that’s meant to be played and to be played loud, and it won’ let you forget James House. - No Depression / By Henry Carrigan, Staff Reviewer

Das komplette Tracklisting:

1. Long Way Home - 3:06
2. Arkansas Woman - 3:11
3. Ain't No Way - 3:09
4. Long Way Down - 3:42
5. Good Love - 3:47
6. Moving on Over - 3:59
7. Well Ran Dry - 3:31
8. Gone Again - 4:13
9. Boomerang - 3:07
10. Ballad of the Troubadour Kings - 3:40
11. Which Side of the River - 3:47

In 2011, I wrote a review of Jimbo Mathus’ Confederate Buddha album, referring to the music on it as “rooted deeply in Mathus’ beloved Mississippi Hill Country, but the messages contained within the dozen tracks came from – and reach out to – some place far, far away.” My feelings about Confederate Buddha still stand – it’s a hell of a piece of work. But let me tell you something right now, folks: I don’t know what sort of gris-gris Mathus and his Tri-State Coalition (bassist Ryan Rogers, drummer Terrence Bishop, keyboardist Eric Carlton, and guitarist Matt Pierce) called upon during the recording of White Buffalo, but they have conjured up some mighty, mighty fine tunes.
You don’t have to wait for the magic to take hold: Mathus’ sweet mandolin ushers in “In The Garden” while Jimbo doles out some philosophy and advice – rolled in flour and pan-fried to a golden brown by the Coalition, who fall in behind him midway through the first verse. Carlton’s accordion infuses the tune with a Delta vibe; Bishop and Rogers keep the beat simmering somewhere between the Scottish Highlands and a Tibetan mountaintop; Pierce pilots his Telecaster through some amazing twists and turns; and through it all, Mathus’ brave little mando carries the torch that lights the song’s soul. The White Buffalo is off and running.
The best way to get to the core of what this album is all about is to dive right into the middle of the beast: the amazingly eclectic-yet-perfectly-united trifecta of “White Buffalo”, “Hatchie Bottoms”, and “Fake Hex”. The title tune comes roaring out of the speakers with enough force to make you duck your head – all rolling and a’tumbling drums and ga-wooping bass and wailing guitars and flashes of wild-ass voodoo funk ::: JIMI! ::: but there’s not a Cuban heel nor bit of tie-dye in sight; this is flannel-shirted and raggedy-blue-jeaned get-down-to-it psychedelia – as real as the button missing on that there thermal t-shirt, my friend. No sooner has the wild-colored dust and vapors and cymbal sizzles from “White Buffalo” settled than a gently-strummed acoustic guitar wraps its loving arms around you and takes you to “Hatchie Bottoms”. “In 20 and 10 I went back home again to the funeral of my Uncle Bobby …” sings Jimbo – and by the time the rest of the band has fallen into step, you are headed home as well, feeling every ounce of sweet and mournful ache ::: HANK! ::: that Jimbo and the boys lay on you. There’s hardly enough time to wipe your eyes before “Fake Hex” takes off, gee-tars all snapping and biting and chasing their tails in total Some Girls -era Stones glory ::: KEITH! ::: and it’s a hell of a mess Jimbo’s singing about (“Ever since I knew ya, you ain’t brought me nuthin’ but heartache”) but when they go roaring off into the wham/crash/wail of the bridge at 1:37, you’re helpless to do a thing except dance, dance, dance.
And that’s when you realize that what these crazy/talented bastards have managed to pull off is capturing the spirit of some sort of ::: JIMI! ::: HANK! ::: KEITH! ::: HOLY ROCK ‘N’ ROLL TRINITY – not by doing killer impressions or relying on plastic studio-created ambience … no, no, no. What Mathus and the Coalition have done is slow-boiled rock ‘n’ roll right down to its syrupy goodness, and then played it with every ounce of their collective beings – in a big ol’ room with big ol’ mics and a big ol’ vibe.
Sun Studios had it. Big Pink had it. The Basement Tapes and Motel Shot had it. And White Buffalo has it – a function of Mathus’ Delta Recording Service in Como, MS (an old high-ceilinged grocery store converted to a studio – that still shares a building with the local post office); a function of producer Eric “Roscoe” Ambel’s total grasp of who these players are and what they want to do; and a function of the players themselves knowing who they are and what they want to do.
Settling into White Buffalo is like hanging out in a cool old house where every chair is comfy; it’s chock full of moments to burrow into. Mathus’ and Matt Pierce’s harmonized guitar spirals on “Tennessee Walker Mare” are the sweetest you’ve heard since Dickey and Duane made the sun shine on “Blue Sky” while “Run Devil Run” will make the hair stand up your arms and have you brushing swamp vines out of your face that aren’t there.
“(I Wanna Be Your) Satellite” is a neat mix of crunch and velvet – a garage with a Wall Of Sound in the back. The boys lay down passages of cool doo-wop between the growled/yelped sing-‘em-like-you-feel-‘em verses. Eric Carlton’s cheesy-toned organ is the perfect glue; Ryan Rogers’ bass repeatedly builds the tune’s tension up and keeps things on edge; and pay attention to the start-stop-start drum roll that Terrence Bishop goes into at the 1:50 mark – one of the coolest bits of just-right-and-no-more rock rhythm laid down since Mickey Waller’s roll between the first and second verses of Every Picture Tells A Story. (Don’t take my word for it – go look it up.)
“Poor Lost Souls” is another tune whose words are of today, but whose soul comes straight out of an old AM radio speaker with Hank Williams doing the testifying for Mother’s Best Flour: “She’s just a lump of coal/but she could have been a diamond.” (Pierce tickles and prods his Tele into everything from Bakersfield ticky-tick rhythms to heartbreaker pedal steel-ish twang.) “Self?” is a study in introspection, honesty, and crunchy guitars; “Useless Heart” is more of the same – only different. Jay Bennett would’ve loved it.
Interplanetary honky tonk? Born-in-the-bone Americana? Yes and yes – and a few dozen other descriptions would fit, as well. It matters not what you call it, though – Jimbo Mathus and the Tri-State Coalition are playing your song.
Too early to start this year’s “Best Of” list? Nope. And White Buffalo is an easy pick.
(Brian Robbins/jambands.com)

It's difficult to know where to start when praising Lori McKenna's "The Tree." It's so good in so many ways. Artists like Little Big Town and Tim McGraw have benefited greatly from recording McKenna songs, yet it's unlikely many mainstream country music fans recognize her name. Fans of Miranda Lambert and Kacey Musgraves, two women that consistently and effectively write straight from the heart, would love McKenna's songs -- if only given the chance.
McKenna writes with incisive emotional intelligence, which is why "A Mother Never Rests," a song praising mothers, deftly avoids anything resembling cliché or simplistic sentimentality. Lines like, "She only sits for a minute/She's a hummingbird in the living room," paint an accurate picture that trumps any Hallmark card. McKenna closes with "Like Patsy Would," which finds her aiming to "sing it like Patsy (Cline) would." And to prove her point, she writes and performs a few songs that Cline would have been proud to sing, and she sings them just like a broken-hearted Cline. "You Won't Even Know I'm Gone," sung over a simple, finger-picked arrangement, is an underappreciated woman's goodbye note. It's as heartfelt and tragic as "By the Time I Get to Phoenix." "You Can't Break A Woman" also details a bad relationship, only in the case, the woman has decided to stick it out and stay. "Whiskey breath don't faze her anymore," she concedes.
Two of the centerpiece songs concern aging. "People Get Old" grapples with the mystery of aging. "If we live long enough, the people we love get old," McKenna muses. This is track is followed by "Young and Angry Again," a song that longs for youthful days of irresponsibility. Country radio is oversaturated with songs about high school glory days, but McKenna reaches for feelings far deeper than mere memories of high school sweethearts; she wants to recapture an elusive mindset only found in the young.
The title track meditates on identity. As much as we like to think of ourselves as dynamic and ever-changing, the saying "The apple never falls far from the tree" oftentimes proves too true. No matter how far we may think we've strayed from our roots, we're sometimes more like that stable and unmovable tree than we'd like to believe. We rarely move too far away from the house that built us.
Lori McKenna's "The Tree" can be likened to a long and meaningful evening with a dear friend, where the conversation delves deeply into the most significant issues in life. Sometimes it hurts. Sometimes it heals, but it's always never less than unavoidably engaging.
(Dan MacIntosh / Country Standard Time)

Das komplette Tracklisting:

1. A Mother Never Rests - 2:45
2. The Fixer - 3:28
3. People Get Old - 3:42
4. Young and Angry Again - 3:37
5. The Tree - 3:23
6. You Won't Even Know I'm Gone - 2:17
7. Happy People - 3:26
8. You Can't Break a Woman - 3:13
9. The Lot Behind St. Mary's - 3:30
10. The Way Back Home - 3:02
11. Like Patsy Would - 2:58

Die komplette Tracklist:
1. Just Along For The Ride
2. Friend Of The Devil
3. Always And Forever
4. Nashville Blues
5. (Love Me) Like Yu Used To Do
6. Twenty One Days
7. Drinkin' Alone
8. Highway
9. Preacher
10. Texas Time Travelin'
11. Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way? (w/ Pat Green)

There’s something noteworthy about what Michael Ray brings to the table on his new album, Amos. Maybe it’s the spirit of his beloved grandfather that Ray personifies in the album’s namesake, but Amos is more than just a body of country songs – it’s a symbol of Ray’s growth as an artist. Since Ray topped the chart in 2016 with “Think a Little Less,” he’s proven that Amos was worth the wait, drawing in one’s attention with his compelling voice and convincing delivery that makes for his most dynamic project to date.
The timing of the album’s summer release is a perfect match for the feel-good vibe that’s weaved throughout Amos’ spirit, as evidenced by the nostalgic “Summer Water,” lively “Fan Girl,” flirtatious “You’re On” and the irresistible “One That Got Away.” The 11-track project is slick all the way down from Ray’s polished vocals to the skillful production that blends authentic country elements with the genre-bending sounds that have broadened the country perspective.
With the lighthearted tracks comes a series of sentimental moments that demonstrate an emotional depth that diversifies Ray’s artistry. The moving “Her World or Mine” reflects this, as Ray delivers an emotive conviction that makes it the most captivating song on the record. Through both the pain-soaked lyrics and the honest passion in Ray’s vocals as he sings “One of us moved on, one of us got stuck, one of us sleeps good, one of us hates to face the night, just depends if you’re talking about her world or mine,” it feels as though your heart is breaking alongside his own, exhibiting a raw vulnerability that proves his artistic strength. Should he continue to offer songs in this vein, he could place himself in the category of the legends and timeless heartbreak songs he so admires. The album’s lead single “Get to You” also demonstrates Ray’s earnest side as he tries to reach out to a woman afraid to love, staying in tune with the heartfelt nature he portrays on his other romantic numbers.
While Ray has always been a promising vocalist, his voice truly glows on Amos, making each song come to life with his combination of strength and purity. But it’s the sense of conviction he brings to each track that shows just how much Ray has grown, seeming to truly envelope himself in every story portrayed in this compilation of songs.
Though Ray has already established himself in the genre with two chart-topping hits, Amos is bound to not only expand upon this success, but prove his stamina as a well-rounded artist capable of honesty and depth, two qualities crucial to the core of the genre he embraces whole-heartedly.
(Cillea Houghton / Sounds like Nashville)

Jamie Richards has spent his whole career just this side of the spotlight but, with one glance at his busy touring schedule and impressive discography, you wouldn't know it. By not being much of a social butterfly, and not submitting to the powers that be, Richards has been able to make music and entertain his loyal fans one simple way: his way. By putting the song and the music first, and surrounding himself with like-minded people, Richards has carved out a very unique and comfortable place in the Texas scene. As he gears up to release his latest album, LATEST & GREATEST, he is looking to reach new audiences as well as reconnect with those who have followed him since the beginning. "It seems like the environment of country music is changing," said Richards. "It's shifting back to what I've done all along with songs that have a message and make you feel something. I'm very excited for everyone to hear this new album. Whether you're a new fan looking for real country music or a long-time fan waiting to see what happens next, there is a song on here for just about anyone." Known for being a singer that can deliver a range of emotions, Richards has climbed the ranks of country music, one rung at a time. Finding his way to Curb Records in 1999, he became a staff writer and celebrated cuts by artists such as Hal Ketchum ("That's What You Get For Loving Me"), Ken Mellons ("Believe"), and the ever popular, "Loose, Loud and Crazy," by Texas favorite, Kevin Fowler. Leaving Nashville in 2001 to join Wes Daily at Houston's D Records, Texas became his "second home" and he has released five albums (NO REGRETS, BETWEEN THE LINES, DRIVE, SIDEWAYS, IT'S ALL ABOUT THE MUSIC) and 16 crowd-pleasing singles-12 of which made it into the Top 10 on the various Texas Music charts. From his first single, "Don't Try To Find Me" (2002), to the chart-topping "Drive" (2008) and his most recent hit, "I'll Have Another" (2013), success was imminent and his popularity knew no boundaries. Always a traditionalist, Richards' newest effort, LATEST & GREATEST, is a compilation of songs old and new. Featuring several fan favorites from over the years, the five new songs on the album usher in a new chapter in his storied career. With a plot line that never changes and a setting that is all too familiar, Richards stays true to his country roots by delivering music fit for the honky-tonk crowd.